I'm in a nightmare, and I can't wake up
by ccujo
Summary: Max has a nightmare, and Kate comforts her after she wakes up. { a really, really simple drabble I wrote because I was bored and wanted to do something for Marshfield. tw for suicide }


The smell of rain was thick in the air, despite the fact that _technically_ , no drops were falling. The sight in front of Max's eyes had her nearly as paralyzed as the world in front of her. It felt like she froze herself in time, as well as everything else. Fear held her completely stuck in place, her limbs refusing to move an inch.

The sight of Kate falling off the roof was playing in her mind, over and over. Every single replay of the action sent another bolt of fear cascading through Max. She was petrified.

Something hot and wet trickled from her nose. Blood. She knew it, without reaching up to check—the roaring in her head told her that much. Her powers had caused it, she knew, although she wasn't quite sure why.

The blood from her nose seemed to be the only thing in motion. She had paused the world, and _she_ seemed to be trapped in quicksand. No matter how hard she tried to make her legs move forwards, they stayed in place.

"Don't!" she desperately wanted to scream, although she knew that Kate, too, was frozen. Just like everything else.

After a few moments of straining against whatever was holding her back, Max finally was able to topple forwards a few steps. To her utter horror, however, the motion seemed to make her powers slip. The world resumed, and fat droplets of rain struck her face.

"Oh my God, she's actually going to do it!" a shrill voice gasped.

Max's eyes shot up to where Kate was standing, terror enveloping her as she pushed forwards. She didn't hesitate to elbow people out of her way, struggling as hard as she could to reach Kate in time, to stop this.

"KATE, PLEASE DON'T!" she shrieked as loudly as she could, the words tearing from her throat.

Hope rose within her as Kate seemed to hesitate. Right as Max broke away from the crowd, her neck straining with her effort to keep her eyes on Kate, the blonde girl's gaze seemed to meet Max's. Kate smiled softly, sadly, and Max hoped that she'd hesitate long enough for her to reach her.

And then she jumped.

Max wasn't the first one to scream—several of the wails rose quickly through the air. Tears streamed down her face as she watched Kate fall, feeling utterly helpless.

She held out her hand as quickly as she could, _needing_ to rewind just a little bit. The action sent another jolt of pain through her brain, and she realized with horror that her powers were gone. Max cried out with the knowledge, closing her eyes, not wanting to see it happen.

Max had failed. She couldn't save Kate.

With a gasp, the short-haired girl's eyes burst open. Sweat drenched her skin in the most unpleasant way. She sat up, shoulders shaking with her silent sobbing. Max tried to muffle her crying as much as possible, but that never worked—after a few moments, a soft hand found her wrist and gently pulled it away from her face.

"The nightmare again?" Kate murmured, eyeing her girlfriend carefully. Concern filled her expression, despite the fact that she still looked half asleep.

Max didn't trust herself to speak, so she just nodded. Kate didn't hesitate to sit up and wrap her arms around the other girl. She rested her head on Max's shoulder, soft blonde hair cushioning it. Silently Kate slowly started stroking Max's wrist.

"I'm right here," Kate whispered.

After a few long minutes sitting just like that, Max slowly started to relax. She was able to push away the memory of Kate falling. She wished she could just erase it all together, but that didn't seem likely. Not when she saw it every time she had a nightmare.

"You saved me," her girlfriend's voice was the greatest comfort on the planet, "and I'm right here with you because of it."

Eventually, Max's sobs subsided into silent tears, and even those stopped after a while. She wrapped her arms around Kate's waist, turning her head far enough to press a kiss into the blonde's hair. The pair laid back again, still entwined in a close embrace.

"Thanks," Max whispered, voice only shaking slightly.

"Of course," Kate smiled softly, although Max could tell she was drifting off once more, "Love you, Max."

The brunette's lips curled upwards, forever relieved that Kate was safe and in her arms. Where nothing or nobody in the world could hurt her.

"Love you, too."


End file.
